Light Museum Reopens in Durham After £17m Redevelopment Project

The Light museum will open to visitors on 22 August after a £17m redevelopment of the former Durham Light Infantry Museum and Art Gallery building at Aykley Heads.

The venue, run by Durham County Council, closed in 2016 when visitor numbers fell too low to keep operations viable. Construction delays and local objections over the site pushed back any firm plans until 2023. The August opening marks the end of nearly ten years without public access to the site.

Site Changes and Funding Sources

The project added 550 square metres of temporary exhibition space while keeping the building's historic ties to the Durham Light Infantry regiment. A permanent display will draw on objects, documents and film from the DLI Collection. The work formed part of a wider capital programme that also delivered the sister site The Story at Mount Oswald, which opened last year as the permanent home for the collections. Funding came from Durham County Council together with the North East Combined Authority, Arts Council England, the European Regional Development Fund, the National Lottery Heritage Fund and the Wolfson Foundation.

Architects NORR led the redesign, which includes a ground-floor café, shop and spaces for private events. The council expects 80,000 to 100,000 visitors each year once the doors reopen.

First Exhibition and Local Context

The opening show, Victory Over the Sun: Encounters with Light, will feature modern and contemporary works that explore light as a medium, including pieces by Dan Flavin and Tracey Emin. The display draws inspiration from Joseph Swan, the Sunderland-born inventor of the light bulb. Other Durham venues have also refreshed their offerings this year, including new galleries at the Bowes Museum in Barnard Castle and a permanent gallery at Durham University’s Museum of Archaeology that opened in June.

Residents can check thelightdurham.org.uk for confirmed opening hours and entry details ahead of the 22 August launch.